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Tag Archives: Vilma Reynoso

As a lifetime lover and student of literature and as an author myself, there are no words to describe Eve Ensler’s absolutely stunning, courageous and profound book, In the Body of the World. It is nothing less than a 21st century original masterpiece! Ensler’s prose is so poignant, original and raw; it will ignite the passion and fire in your own body and emotions. Her metaphors left me speechless, her story left me breathless, and her courage is incredible. This is by far the best-written memoir I have ever read! There are no words to explain the magnificence of this book!

In the Body of the World is a story about the author, Eve Ensler’s, battle and healing from very advanced uterine cancer. Using rich and original metaphors that leave you wanting more, Ensler combines her experience of being sexually abused as a child by her father, growing up with a distant, non-protective mother, her fight with cancer, her love and commitment to the ending of the genocide and brutal rape of millions of women in the Congo, and her disconnection to mother Earth to produce a very inspiring memoir. She brilliantly describes her dissociation from her emotions due to her tumultuous childhood and reconnects with her body, mind, emotions and soul as she heals from cancer. She writes, “Because I did not, could not, inhabit my body or the earth, I could not feel or know their pain.” The metaphorical weaving of this text is nothing less than first rate!

A bit about the author, Eve Ensler:

Eve Ensler is a visionary. She is an international bestselling author and an award-winning playwright. Her theatrical works include but are not limited to: The Vagina Monologues, Necessary Targets and The Good Bodies. She is author of Insecure at Last, a political memoir, and I am an Emotional Creature, a New York Times best-seller, which she has adapted for the stage as Emotional Creature.

Ensler is the founder ofV-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls that occursin various cities worldwide every Feb 14th, and which has raised over $90 million for local groups and activists and inspired the global action, “One Billion Rising.” Eve Ensler has won numerous awards for her plays and has been given two honorary doctorates. Eve’s mission is to end all violence towards women and girls worldwide. To join Eve in her mission or to learn more about this incredible woman, visit her website, EveEnsler.org, or join her on V-Day, Feb 14th, every year, until all violence ends.

In the Body of the World is her latest book. To purchase a copy, visit her website: EveEnsler.org.

The first book featured for the new year, 2014, is none other than the brilliantly-written, The World Peace Diet: Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony by Amazon best-selling author, Will Tuttle. This book explains thoroughly why a vegan diet is the only diet of choice for all people from various perspectives – spiritual, political, ecological, nutritional and cultural. Tuttle profoundly makes the connection between our culture, our food, and our broad range of problems. He explains and demonstrates the way to a positive transformation in the individual and the collective. If you are seeking a new perspective on how to solve the dilemmas we face as a growing population and changing culture, this book is for you!

Born in Emerson Hospital in 1953 in Concord, Massachusetts, and a thirty-plus year vegan, Dr. Will Tuttle is a pianist, composer, educator, and the recipient of the Courage of Conscience Award. As a former Zen monk, his Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley focused on educating intuition and altruism. He presents ongoing events promoting peace through compassion for all life via articles, lectures, radio, TV, and print interviews, trainings and online seminars. He lives and travels around the country with his wife, Madeleine, in their motor home.

As a vegan and as lover of great reads, I am facilitating a study of this marvelous book! Join me, Vilma Reynoso, Vegan Wellness Coach and Peter B. Roth, Transformational Spiritual Healer, Astrologer and vegan, for a study and discussion of The World Peace Diet: Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony. Our purpose is to dig deep into the reasons why people choose to become vegan and the reasons why it is vital to adopt the vegan lifestyle. You are welcome to join whether you are a seasoned vegan, a new vegan or curious about veganism, and if you live in the Denver metro area.

Meetings will be held in Denver, CO, on the last Thursday of the month in January, February, March, and April of 2014. Each meeting will consist of a short presentation and recap of the month’s assigned chapters. An open discussion will then follow. To join this study, visit The World Peace Diet Meetup.

To learn more about Will Tuttle or to purchase a printed version of The World Peace Diet: Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony, visit Will Tuttle’s website.

On the last day of the year, 2013, I thought I would ponder, once again, that age-old question: “What is the meaning of life?”

What a crazy question that has been asked over the centuries since the beginning of time! There is no other question, I believe, that has been asked more. And, answers? There are probably as many answers to this question as there are thinkers and philosophers who have asked it over the ages. It is a question that really has no direct, easy answer.

One such thinker and philosopher who asked this question and contemplated the answer to it was Henry David Thoreau. In the mid 1800’s, this man decided to take up the challenge of trying to answer the important question, “What is the meaning of life?” Thoreau decided to ponder the question as he lived by himself in a small house in the woods which contained one room and a nearby outhouse for two years, two months, and two days. There, in this peaceful and serene place, he thought, studied, meditated, and experimented, deeply pondering not only what the meaning of life is, but also why it is that man is always wanting more and seems to never be satisfied with what he is and has. Alone and at peace, Henry David Thoreau became in tune with the Creator, the force that exists in all creation, the universal spirit and intuition that resides in all people and which stimulates man to live. During this momentous time, he wrote his best work, Walden. Thoreau discovered that life is always seeking to expand, emerge, to grow. He also concluded that what we dream about for our lives is not only that which is seeking to emerge from us, but it is nothing less than the creative force, the infinite Creator, or God (whatever your choice of words) that wants to manifest itself in our lives through our expression and creativity. Life, and the meaning thereof, is all there is. The meaning of life is to adhere to the creative force within and express it outward. It is to allow the life spirit within to live.

Have you ever taken a walk and have you ever pondered the cracks in the pavement? How many times have you seen that tiny, soft green plant emerging from concrete? It has managed to grow through that thick material wanting to live, hasn’t it? We are the same. Everything we do, the very reason we get out of bed in the morning is because life is seeking to emerge from us; life is seeking to have a fuller and freer and more expanding expression through us, all the time. We want more clothes, more money, more friends, a bigger house, a larger yard, a new profession, a new book to read, a special relationship, more freedom, more creative expression, more LIFE! We seek because we are expanding beings who MUST create and expand. It is not wrong to want more; it is actually normal and natural. Like the blade of grass that needs to break through the payment, we always need to break through to a fuller and more expansive life. And, this is where our dreams come in. The life we would love living is the life that is seeking to emerge from us.

How do we live our dream life? Our first step is to decide what our core values are and then start to imagine a life we would love that would encompass those values. You might value your time with your family, or you might value spending time by yourself reading and need this time to relax and recharge. You might value nature and prefer to spend an hour a day experiencing the outdoors. You might value health and prefer to eat healthy foods and exercise daily. You might value peace, love, or respect. Or, perhaps you value friendships and desire to spend time socializing more than spending time alone. Whatever it is that you value must be in line with whatever you desire for your dream life.

Once we know what our core values are, we then decide what it is we LOVE. What makes you smile, makes your eyes and body light up fully? What activity do you do that when you do it makes you wish time would stop at that very moment? Or, what do you day dream about doing and wish you could practice all day? What do you know that is welling deep inside that needs to be shared with others? What passion do you have that you desire to share with the world? These are only beginning questions to ponder in starting to create a life of your dreams, the life that is seeking to emerge from you.

Henry David Thoreau truly believed that the creative force within is seeking to come forth and blossom into a greater and fuller life through us on this side of existence. Many other thinkers and philosophers have agreed with Thoreau and have lived magnificent and full lives of creative expression and true happiness. But before they were able to create truly fulfilling lives, they learned that they needed to listen to their creative voices first. What is it that you feel and know in your spirit that wants to emerge in 2014? Whatever it is, there is never a better time than NOW to allow it to come forth.

“What I care mostly about is variety. Give me that, and I can do almost any job.” – Scanner 1

“For me, the right career doesn’t exist. It would have to satisfy my creative part, be challenging, and be sometimes solitary, sometimes social.” – Scanner 2

Refuse to Choose! A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything that you Love is one of my favorite books because it really hit home when I read it! Are you the type of person (like I am), who is fascinated with so many things that you have a hard time narrowing down what to do, and when? Are you the kind of person who feels overwhelmed with just the thought of trying to figure out how you will possibly accomplish all that you desire? Well, I am here to tell you there is a way, and Barbara Sher, an expert life coach and expert on goal achievement, has got the answer for you! As a matter of fact, she has a term for you: you are a SCANNER, a person who is genetically wired to be interested in many things. In Ms. Sher’s own words: “Unlike those people who seem to find and be satisfied with that one area of interest, you’re genetically wired to be interested in many things, and that is exactly what you’re trying to do [many things]! Because your behavior is unfamiliar – even unsettling to the people around you – you’ve been taught that you are doing something wrong and that your behavior must change. But what you have been told is a mistake – you have been misdiagnosed. You are a different creature altogether …You are the owner of a remarkable, multitalented brain trying to do its work in a world that does not understand who you are and doesn’t know why you behave as you do.”

Whew! What a relief when I read this! I realized that I was not abnormal, but the way I need to function best is to partake in everything that interests me. I am not alone and neither are you! Barbara Sher, in her brilliant book, Refuse to Choose! A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything that you Love, thoroughly illustrates how we are able to partake in everything we want to do. In part one of her book, she examines who scanners are and why we are so hard on ourselves. Part two explains the different types of scanners and how we could best be who we truly are.

Barbara Sher is a speaker, career/lifestyle coach, and best-selling author of seven books on goal achievement. Her books have sold millions of copies and been translated into many languages. To read more about Barbara, her life and her accomplishments, visit her website, www.barbarasher.com.

To order a copy of Refuse to Choose! A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything that you Love, visit Amazon.com.

“To Scanners the world is like a big candy store full of fascinating opportunities, and all they want is to reach out and stuff their pockets.” – Barbara Sher

As a child, I grew up consuming my father’s Argentine barbecues every Sunday. Usually ill with colds as a child, I suffered from chronic sinus problems, asthma and respiratory ailments, and was overweight. As a young adult, I suffered with horrible PMS, fibroids, chronic fatigue, anxiety, mood swings, asthma, intestinal problems, sinusitis, foggy thinking, and even depression. After evaluating my health and the deaths of both my parents…

There is no better book that I have read so far that explains, simply and logically, the connection between our thoughts and beliefs and disease or illness. All attitudes, thoughts and beliefs, whether good or bad, manifest in the body. Daniel R. Condron, in Permanent Healing: Quantum Mechanics of Healing, explains how mental attitudes– or self-destructive thoughts or beliefs – are the cause of our disorders or illnesses and how changing our thoughts eliminates disease.

Condron explains how he overcame asthma as a seven-year-old and how he “thought” his way towards health and great success in life. This brilliant book also includes a substantial glossary of most illnesses or diseases with the explanation of what the mental cause is for a specific illness or condition and how to remedy them with acknowledging and changing what he calls our “mental disorders,” or our beliefs and attitudes.

Personally, I have suffered from Asthma since I was a child and have recently had another attack that left me not able to breathe fully for over a week. After adhering to Mr. Condron’s advice on why I have asthma, and adhering to his recommendations on how to change my thoughts to healthier ones, my asthma has left. I am now able to take a deep breath without any problem! I am now in the process of changing my beliefs in other areas of my life!

Dr. Daniel R. Condron, a very accomplished individual with an impressive resume, is on the governing board of The School of Metaphysics, is a teacher, educator, philosopher, administrator, writer, composer, agriculturist, ecologist, and more! He has written the following books as well:

1976, A Development study of the Huahaga Central in Peru – a Masters thesis1978, You’re Worth It, understanding your self-value1981, The Most Beautiful Book in the World1983, Beyond Sales1992, Dreams of the Soul1993. Understanding Your Dreams1994, Universal Language of Mind1996, Seven Secret Keys to Prosperity and Abundance1997, Superconscious Meditation2001, The Four Stages of Growth2003, Isaiah Chapter 55, Interpreted and Explained2003, The Tao Te Ching, Interpreted and Explained2004, The Purpose of Life2006, The Secret Code of Revelation2007, The Emptiness Sutra

“Change your perspective, and the most ordinary things take on expressible beauty.” – Karen Maezen Miller

Absolutely one of the best books I have ever read on the simplicity and beauty of all of life is Karen Maezen Miller’s, Hand Wash Cold: care instructions for an ordinary life. She uses the metaphor of tending to the laundry, the kitchen and the yard as explanations of how we can successfully maneuver through the idiosyncrasies, pain and albeit joy in life, every day and every moment! Household chores and caregiving tasks become opportunities for self-examination, lessons in relationship, and liberating moments of selflessness. Miller’s brilliant piece of prose explains how attending to daily tasks with awareness and a loving, open heart, will lead us to fall in love with our lives!

A bit about the author:

Karen Maezen Miller is a Zen Buddhist priest and sensai, a wife, a mother and an expert “laundress.” She is also the author of the book, Momma Zen. She teaches at Hazy Moon Zen in Los Angeles and at workshops and retreats around the country.